The invention relates to a wagon (also referred to as a slider) of a linear-movement guide, which is provided for a rail-supported arrangement, the wagon having a center section and two legs that adjoin the center section, thereby forming an essentially U-shaped wagon cross section, and a recess that extends parallel to the provided axis of longitudinal movement. In the region of the two legs, the wagon has at least one roller-body track, with each track being provided with a return conduit, a support region and two diversion conduits that connect the return conduit and the support region to one another.
Roller-bearing-type linear guides for roller bearings are used in numerous technological fields in which a component is to be moved in a straight line with respect to another component, and with the lowest possible frictional losses. An example of such applications is machine tools. In this case, the guides have a wagon or a sliding element that is guided on a rail via roller bodies such as balls, rollers or needles. The roller bodies circulate in closed roller-body tracks of the wagon. They typically have a support zone, in which the roller bodies rest against a support surface of the wagon and against the rail, thereby supporting the load to be moved. Due to the linear movement of the wagon, the roller bodies exit the support zone and enter a first diversion conduit, in which the roller bodies are transferred from the support zone into the return conduit. After passing through the return conduit, the roller bodies re-enter the support zone via a second diversion conduit.
In many cases, the diversion conduits are formed by an assembly that is positioned against and secured to the end face of a base body of the wagon, the assembly at least partially including the necessary guide elements for diversion. Usually, this assembly includes the guide elements of all of the diversions disposed at the respective end face. Moreover, a scraper, which is intended to prevent dirt from entering the wagon, can also be integrated into the assembly.
Several miniaturized linear-movement guides are already known; they are frequently used in the field of semiconductor machinery. These linear-movement guides typically have only one roller-body track at one wagon leg, because this permits a reduction in the occurring loads. Otherwise, these linear-movement guides are miniaturized in that the greatly-widened, larger linear-movement guides are realized on a smaller scale, but with essentially no structural changes. The disadvantage of this, however, is that the wagons have a fairly complex structure, because they require a relatively large number of components. Because the production tolerances of the individual components are cumulative, comparatively high manufacturing-precision requirements must be placed on the individual components. Due to the small wagon size, the precision requirements would be easier to meet per se than in larger linear-movement guides, however.
In many of the known linear-movement guides, it is not persuasive that a separate, end-face component must be constructed, finished and possibly supplied for different wagon widths. This is necessary, however, because the endface components, which include guide elements for diversions, are respectively matched to a specific wagon width.